COVID-19, aka the Novel Coronavirus, has changed the way the world lives. We can sense and feel the impact of COVID-19 on our lives wherever we look. From the way we dress to the way we communicate with others; everything seems to have changed completely. It isn’t a negative thing, and although I do believe the world needed a reset, the drastic impacts of this virus have been huge on everyone.
From corporate giants to small businesses, the virus has affected just about everyone. It has already crippled economies of even the strongest countries in the world, and its impact is expected to be felt long after it has vanished from the world. Such is the world we live in, and it is essential to note that humanity might have to be content in living together with this virus.
Effects of COVID-19 on Education
As COVID-19 has affected just about everything in the world, education is one of the sectors that have been hit hardest. It is a divine reality that education is the backbone for anything good that occurs in a country, and the developing countries are no different.
On one end, COVID-19 has stopped the whole world, including education, but on the other hand, it has also resulted in more research being done in Virology institutes around the world due to increased funding. More and more scientists have been working non-stop to find a solution to this pandemic we’re facing.
In the meantime, the education sector looked at viable solutions to continue the flow of studies and found online classes as a way of delivering lectures to students no matter where they are, which has turned out to be a successful experiment.
COVID-19 Effects on Developing Countries
In a world where the most developed and robust countries have entirely fallen flat due to the adverse repercussions of the Novel Coronavirus on the economy and several other areas, one can imagine its effects on developing countries. Developing countries neither have the resources nor the financial means to cope with this virus, and they’ve struggled with it ever since the pandemic began.
But, if we have to mark one point in developing countries where the virus has led to the betterment of something, it has to be education. The tutoring needed a refresh, and with just about every student being heavily reliant on in-person classes, this has brought a revolutionary change in the education sector of developing countries like Pakistan.
Boost of Online Education due to COVID-19
In the past, a lot of people were skeptical about online tutoring. In developing countries, the idea of education without having to go to schools, academies, or universities for classes and presentations was a novice one. COVID-19 made everyone and the authorities think about a possible solution to teach the students at home without physical interaction. Online classes and exams were the solution, and it seems to have done very well.
Even though the pandemic is still at its peak, and people around the world are dying due to this dangerous virus, universities are still conducting online classes with ease everywhere in the world. In developing countries, most students had access to decent internet beforehand, and even though the idea of online education was difficult to digest for a lot of individuals, more and more people have an accepted mentality on online tutoring nowadays. An example is TopGrade.pk, an online entry test preparation platform in Pakistan, that were struggling with category awareness issues till 2019, in 2020 it has become the first choice for students. There are many other examples like ByJus in India etc.
In developing countries, with more and more people having access to smartphones has resulted in greater access to decent internet. That allows students to take online sessions no matter where they are. Universities have also been conducting online exams, so that bodes well for the immediate future, and is an indicator that the current system is very much working.
Advantages of Online Education in Developing and Developed Countries
Online education, in general, has several advantages. The first key benefit of having online knowledge as an integral part of the educational circle is increased access to courses and programs that wouldn’t be possible to take up in physical classes. For instance, there are so many underdeveloped countries in the world that don’t possess a high-quality teaching staff in various places.
In that case, students have to travel from home to a city far away from the mainland to attend classes. Online tutoring has made knowledge accessible at the comfort of your sofa. There is nothing better than taking courses without having to think about traveling to take exams or classes.
Another advantage of online tutoring is convenience. When top-notch education is delivered at the comfort of your sofa without having to hassle here and there for books or notes, a student can entirely focus on his studies and studies alone, which results in more time given to tasks and hence more grades in exams. The added convenience that comes makes it the complete package.
Impact of Online Education in Developing Countries after COVID-19
In the past, a vast majority of the population didn’t have access to the internet due to not having capable enough laptops and phones. These days, with the technological development around the world, more and more people, even in backward areas, have access to the internet that makes it possible for all kinds of students from a wide variety of backgrounds to take classes from home.
Another critical point that has been felt in the developing countries is the quality of education, which hasn’t been too different from what students get in sessions inside the University. That means the experiment of online education has worked successfully. Only COVID-19 has inclined a vast amount of people in trying out the area of online learning, and most people are pleased with the initial outcome in developing countries.
One thing that COVID-19 has decreased is exam results that are far fairer due to computer-based exams and marking. That has made the entire examination process much better in some places that do depend on computers for the examination marking as well.
Biasing is often an issue in developing countries, and anything that digs the root of this issue should be commended. In that way and other reasons mentioned above, it wouldn’t be wrong to say that COVID-19 has given a boost to online learning in underdeveloped and developing countries.
Conclusion
The novel coronavirus has been a thorn in the side of just about every country that exists on planet earth. It has crushed just about everything on which humankind depends on, but the dependence on online learning by the residents of developing countries has increased in this time. The future looks much better for online education in developing countries. If I were to say that this virus has given online tutoring a boost, it wouldn’t be unfair at all.
